In recent years the soft drink industry has moved from glass to plastic bottles of 1-liter and 2-liter size. These plastic bottles are impact-resistant, lighter in weight and less costly than previously glass bottles. As a result of their size, the larger bottles become quite heavy and are difficult to manage and pour, thus providing a need for some type of handle. To form a handle integral with the thin-walled plastic bottle would not be practical for a variety of reasons and has not been done. Likewise the blow-forming method of manufacture of these bottles does not lend itself to an integral handle; however, it does require in its construction a flange on the neck of the bottle which provides some degree of structural integrity aside from its initial bottle-forming function.
Due to the large size of a 2-liter bottle, without a handle, pouring requires using two hands. This, of course, leaves the glass in a precarious position and it would be much more desirable to be able to lift and pour this large and resilient bottle with a single hand. This problem of grasping and pouring is of particular significance with small children and frequently these large bottles have slipped from the hands of the user while being transported to and from the refrigerator as well as during pouring.
A search of the prior art disclosed the following patents which applicant feels are most pertinent to the present invention:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,821,372 Casiello April l8, l989 4,773,549 Avraham September 27, l988 4,768,403 Bar-Noy September 6, 1988 4,486,043 Rais December 4, l984 4,456,135 Beekes June 26, l984 4,379,578 Schuler June 26, l984 ______________________________________
The patents to Rais and Schuler teach a type of handle which grips the bottle around the neck and around the middle of the bottle with the hand-gripping portion in between.
The patent to Beckes teaches a handle which grips only the flange of the bottle and utilizes a rather complex structure for engaging and holding the flange.
The patent to Casiello teaches a relatively simple structure which snaps in place on the neck flange which appears to be a rather precarious connection for a cantilevered handle of this nature.
The patent to Avraham illustrates another handle structure with two-point contact for engaging the neck of the bottle just below the flange and in its midsection. The gripping structure is substantially different from the present invention.
The patent to Bar-Noy teaches a handle structure which splits open and surrounds the neck flange of the bottle as well as providing a function for removing the cap. The structure is different and substantially more complex than the present invention.
Some of the just mentioned prior handles are not sufficiently attached to the bottle with a single attachment point to be reliable while others have handles which are poorly positioned and are not space-efficient when stored in a crowded refrigerator.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple single-point attachment handle with a secure and positive grip on the bottle.
Another object of the present invention is to create a reusable handle which is easy to attach and remove while being durable and inexpensive to manufacture without having any movable parts.
Another object of the present invention is to create a handle which is space-efficient when stored or while being comfortable to lift and pour with.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specification when read in light of the annexed drawings.